Welcome 😊 to our grammar lesson on the Spanish Present Subjunctive (“Presente del Subjuntivo”).
We use the Present Subjunctive in certain types of sentences that express subjectivity: desire, doubt, emotion…
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to conjugate verbs in Present Subjunctive and use them in sentences.
You will also find a Quiz and Exercises to practice.
Contents
- Conjugation of regular verbs in Present Subjunctive
- Conjugation of irregular verbs
- Uses of the Present Subjunctive
- Practice
Conjugation of regular verbs in Present Subjunctive
The following table shows the endings we add to form the Present Subjunctive:
Endings
Verbs in -ar Verbs in -er, -ir yo -e -a tú -es -as él -e -a nosotros -emos -amos vosotros -éis -áis ellos -en -an
Here are some regular verbs in Present Subjunctive, using the endings we just learned:
to speak to eat to livehablar comer vivir yo hable coma viva tú hables comas vivas él hable coma viva nosotros hablemos comamos vivamos vosotros habléis comáis viváis ellos hablen coman vivan
Conjugation of irregular verbs
Irregular verbs in Present Subjunctive add the same endings as regular verbs, but they present an irregularity in the stem.
But… which verbs are irregular? Easy: any verb that has an irregular “yo” form in Present Indicative is irregular in Present Subjunctive.
Let’s study the different types:
1) Verbs with any of the following irregularities in the Present Indicative’s “yo” form:
- c becomes zc
- letter g appears
- letter y appears
… have that same irregularity in Present Subjunctive for all persons:
to know to translate to do to have to influence to senseVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive conocer conozco conozca, conozcas, conozca, conozcamos, conozcáis, conozcan traducir traduzco traduzca, traduzcas, traduzca, traduzcamos, traduzcáis, traduzcan hacer hago haga, hagas, haga, hagamos, hagáis, hagan tener tengo tenga, tengas, tenga, tengamos, tengáis, tengan influir influyo influya, influyas, influya, influyamos, influyáis, influyan intuir intuyo intuya, intuyas, intuya, intuyamos, intuyáis, intuyan
2) Verbs in -ar / -er where e becomes ie in the Present Indicative’s “yo” form, have that same irregularity in Present Subjunctive for all persons, except “nosotros” and “vosotros”:
to think to loseVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive pensar pienso piense, pienses, piense, pensemos, penséis, piensen perder pierdo pierda, pierdas, pierda, perdamos, perdáis, pierdan
3) Verbs in -ir where e becomes ie in the Present Indicative’s “yo” form, have that same irregularity in Present Subjunctive for all persons, except “nosotros” and “vosotros”, where e becomes i:
to prefer to feelVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive preferir prefiero prefiera, prefieras, prefiera, prefiramos, prefiráis, prefieran sentir siento sienta, sientas, sienta, sintamos, sintáis, sientan
4) Verbs where e becomes i in the Present Indicative “yo” form, have that same irregularity in Present Subjunctive for all persons:
to ask for to repeatVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive pedir pido pida, pidas, pida, pidamos, pidáis, pidan repetir repito repita, repitas, repita, repitamos, repitáis, repitan
5) Verbs where o becomes ue in the Present Indicative’s “yo” form, have that same irregularity in Present Subjunctive, for all persons except “nosotros” and “vosotros”:
to tell canVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive contar cuento cuente, cuentes, cuente, contemos, contéis, cuenten poder puedo pueda, puedas, pueda, podamos, podáis, puedan
6) Exceptions to type 5: For the verbs “dormir” and “morir”, o becomes u for “nosotros” and “vosotros” and ue for the other persons:
to sleep to dieVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive dormir duermo duerma, duermas, duerma, durmamos, durmáis, duerman morir muero muera, mueras, muera, muramos, muráis, mueran
7) For the verb “jugar”, u becomes uefor all persons except “nosotros” and “vosotros”. Also, “g” becomes “gu” for all persons:
to playVerb yo form in Present Indicative Present Subjunctive jugar juego juegue, juegues, juegue, juguemos, juguéis, jueguen
8) Very irregular verbs
Finally, here are 7 very irregular verbs that don’t belong to any of the previous types:
to give to be to godar estar ir yo dé esté vaya tú des estés vayas él dé esté vaya nosotros demos estemos vayamos vosotros deis estéis vayáis ellos den estén vayan
to know to be to seesaber ser ver yo sepa sea vea tú sepas seas veas él sepa sea vea nosotros sepamos seamos veamos vosotros sepáis seáis veáis ellos sepan sean vean
(auxiliary verb)haber yo haya tú hayas él haya nosotros hayamos vosotros hayáis ellos hayan
Uses of the Present Subjunctive
We use the Present Subjunctive in certain types of sentences that express subjectivity: desire, doubt, emotion…
Here are the most frequent types of sentences where we use it:
a) After many verbs in Present Tense that express subjectivity (querer, esperar, necesitar, desear, gustar, preferir, interesar, preocupar, molestar…), followed by “que”:
Nosotros queremos que tú estudies más.
We want you to study more.Espero que Miguel venga a mi cumpleaños.
I hope Miguel will come to my birthday.Ellos prefieren que yo no diga nada.
They prefer me not to say anything.No me gusta que hables así.
I don’t like you talking like that.Nos preocupa que nos ataquen.
We are worried they might attack us.
b) After verbs in Present Tense that express a plea, order or advice (pedir, rogar, ordenar, aconsejar, prohibir…), followed by “que”:
Te aconsejo que lo investigues.
I advise you to look into it.Mis padres me prohiben que salga de noche.
My parents forbid me to go out at night.
c) After these expressions of disbelief or doubt in Present Tense:
- no creer que (only when “no” is before “creer”)
- no pensar que (only when “no” is before “pensar”)
- dudar que
El director no cree que eso sea importante.
The director doesn’t think that’s important.Dudo que compremos el coche.
I doubt we will buy the car.
d) In sentences starting with “que” where we wish someone something:
¡Que tengas buen viaje!
Have a nice trip!¡Que lo paséis bien!
You guys have a nice time!
e) After “ojalá” or “ojalá que”, when we express a wish that seems realistic:
Ojalá ganemos el partido.
Hopefully we win the game.Ojalá que ellos tomen la decisión correcta.
Hopefully they make the right decision.
f) After these phrases that express a degree of probability about something present or future:
- posiblemente
- probablemente
- tal vez, quizás
- puede que
- es posible que
- es probable que
Quizás vayamos a Ecuador en verano.
Maybe we will go to Ecuador in the summer.Es posible que ellos nos llamen.
They may call us.
g) After expressions with this structure: [es + adjective + que…]:
Es bueno que vosotros digáis la verdad.
It is good that you guys tell the truth.Es importante que sepamos la verdad.
It’s important for us to know the truth.
h) After “para que” and “a fin de que”, which express intention:
Te regalo esta tele para que veas tu serie favorita.
I give you this TV so you can watch your favorite series.
i) For an expected future event introduced by “cuando”:
Llámame cuando llegues al hotel.
Call me when you get to the hotel.Cuando terminéis el libro, lo comentaremos.
When you guys finish the book, we’ll talk about it.
j) For an expected future event introduced by “hasta que”:
No pagaré el ordenador hasta que funcione.
I won’t pay for the computer until it works.
k) For an expected future event introduced by “antes de que” and “después de que”:
Los niños estudian antes de que sus amigos lleguen.
Children study before their friends arrive.No pises el suelo después de que yo friegue.
Don’t step on the floor after I mop.
l) For necessary conditions introduced by: “siempre que, a condición de que, siempre y cuando”.
Puedes ir a la fiesta siempre que lleves ropa elegante.
You can go to the party as long as you wear elegant clothes.Siempre y cuando seas amable, la gente te tratará bien.
As long as you are nice, people will treat you well.
m) For a hypothetical obstacle (introduced by: “salvo que, a no ser que”) that may cause something not to happen.
Cocinaré carne, a no ser que seáis vegetarianos.
I will cook meat, unless you guys are vegetarians.
n) For a hypothetical obstacle (introduced by: “aunque, a pesar de que”) to something that ends up happening anyway,
Aunque no quieras, iremos a la playa.
Even if you don’t want to, we’ll go to the beach.
o) For the desired qualities of something or someone, introduced by “que, donde, quien”:
Busco un piso que tenga 3 habitaciones.
I am looking for an apartment that has 3 bedrooms.Queremos vivir en una zona donde haya supermercados.
We want to live in an area where there are supermarkets.Queremos una compañera de piso que no fume.
We want a flatmate who doesn’t smoke.
p) In some phrases like the English “whatever you want, as they want…”, which express indecision or leave a decision to someone else:
Podemos ir al cine o al teatro, lo que sea.
We can go to the movies or the theater, whatever.Lo que tú digas.
Whatever you say.Como ellos quieran.
As they want.
Practice
Quiz
Take this short Quiz about the Present Subjunctive:
Exercise 1
Conjugate the following verbs in Present Subjunctive for the given person. Click on the gray spaces to see the solutions.
We have included every type of regular and irregular verb taught in this lesson:
1) yo trabaje (trabajar)
2) tú comprendas (comprender)
3) él piense (pensar)
4) nosotros sintamos (sentir)
5) vosotros repitáis (repetir)
6) ellos cuenten (contar)
7) yo duerma (dormir)
8) tú juegues (jugar)
9) él conozca (conocer)
10) nosotros tengamos (tener)
11) vosotros influyáis (influir)
12) ellos sean (ser)
Exercise 2
In the following sentences, fill the gaps conjugating the verbs in brackets in Present Subjunctive:
1) Buscamos un profesor que sepa francés y alemán. (saber)
We are looking for a teacher who knows French and German.
2) Antes de que tú preguntes , voy a decirlo todo. (preguntar)
Before you ask, I’ll say everything.
3) Cuando nosotros hablemos bien español, haremos un viaje a Chile. (hablar)
When we speak Spanish well, we will take a trip to Chile.
4) Es importante que vosotros pongáis los libros en la estantería. (poner)
It is important that you guys put the books on the shelf.
5) ¿Quieres que llame o prefieres que mande un mensaje? (llamar, mandar)
Do you want me to call or do you prefer me to send a message?
6) No creo que ellos comprendan el problema. (comprender)
I don’t think they understand the problem.
7) Ojalá hagas cosas interesantes y aprendas mucho. (hacer, aprender)
I hope you do interesting things and learn a lot.
Spanish Present Tense – Learn and PracticeSpanish Present Progressive – Learn and PracticeSpanish Imperfect Subjunctive – Learn and PracticeSpanish Present Perfect Subjunctive – Learn and PracticeSpanish Past Perfect Subjunctive – Learn and PracticeSpanish Future Perfect – Learn and PracticeSpanish Reflexive Verbs – Learn and PracticeAffirmative Informal Commands in Spanish – Learn and Practice
